Modelling... hopelessness?


Reader,

I can’t wait to have some time off in June. I am not going on vacation though; I honestly prefer to hibernate at home -independently of the season- in a low stimuli environment to recalibrate my nervous system.

This year I did not plan this time off well ahead of time because, well, this year has not been business as usual (for all of us).

To be honest, this year I have had to work extra hard on my self-care, extra hard on my liberatory and spiritual practice. I questioned harder the good in people (like, is there any good in some people? I’ve asked myself at times), and I have had to hold on to my community even harder -and more selectively- to 1) navigate oppression and resist white supremacy in my practice and personal life, and 2) to not feel alone in my sadness, grief, hopelessness, and all of the other feelings that come up at times (all the time?).

Why do I share this with you? To be real with you, to remind you that decolonial and anti-oppressive work is hard and it can feel isolating at times (until you find your community). To remind you that decolonial, liberatory, and anti-oppressive work will make you confront people and your own feelings, but it is rewarding as hell. It is communal, because it is work you do for yourself, for your practice, for your clients, and for your community. It is work that benefits everyone.

So please hang in there; you are doing a lot. We are doing a lot holding space for so many people and holding space for our communities, especially the most minoritized and oppressed ones. So it’s ok if you feel hopeless every now and then. You’ll have your community to hold you and you can model how to be in right relationship with hopelessness for your clients…. why not?



The free monthly Q&A sessions (a.k.a. Decolonized Consultation Sessions) are back NEXT WEEK (Monday May 20th)

If you participated last year, you are automatically signed (but can opt out here if this is not the right time).

🌈 These are 55-min Q&A sessions where you get to ask all the questions you have about decolonizing and liberating your therapy, healing, and/or wellness practice. You get to create community as the group will also offer feedback and suggestions that have worked for them. These groups are a wealth of communal knowledge!

Some of the topics we’ve covered:

☀️ Building a decolonized mental health or wellness practice

☀️ Anti-oppressive paperwork

☀️ Inclusive treatment

☀️ Decolonizing yourself to decolonize your practice

☀️ Existing and resisting within the mental health industrial complex and wellness complex

If you have not joined yet, you can sign up below:

In community,

Silvana @ Decolonize Your Practice​

PS.

If you are new to this newsletter, you can read previous newsletter posts here.

Let's connect!

Liberatory Letters

I help therapists, healers, and space-holders bring decolonial and liberatory values into their work—so you’re not just saying you’re aligned… you’re actually practicing it. ⬆️ More integrity, more connection, more liberation. ⬇️ Less burnout, less performative wokeness, less colonial residue. If you want a practice where marginalized clients feel safe, seen, and honored—and you want to feel more grounded and intentional in your work—subscribe and join a growing community of practitioners doing this work differently. You practice can be liberatory-- let's get you there!

Read more from Liberatory Letters
maple leaves of different colours according to seasons

October 2026 | issue #12 Reader, I grew up below the equator, in between cold waters and big Andean walls. In between humid mild winters and foggy mild summers. No shorter days in winter, no longer days in summer. School and university taught me when vacations were “supposed” to be. Holidays growing up were time off from work or school. They were not celebrations that meant something. They didn’t necessarily mark transitions into a different season. Many of the holidays we celebrated were...

red slow down signage with snow mountains in the background

Reader, A quick update on what's available & possible: ❤️🩹 Healing Is An Ecosystem (hiae): as self-paced guide (60+ pages) to help you assess the conditions that actually help clients heal, widen your lens, and stop feeling like you are the only one responsible for you clients' wellbeing. ⛰️ Widen The Frame: a free 12-day email series introducing 12 conditions that shape healing and helping you look beyond the therapy room when thinking about what clients need. 🌿 the Practice Of Liberation...

brown soil under a sunny sky

September 2026 | issue #11 Reader, One thing that keeps coming up again and again in my own personal decolonial and liberatory journey is the idea that, in order to decolonize myself, I need to be in relationship with land. The land where I currently live and the land where I was born. There is a spiritual component to this reconnection, but that is not what this letter is about. I am talking about something more tangible: relationship with place, history, language, food, memory, culture, and...